Susan Sarandon and Richard Dreyfuss are joining Ed Norton in Leaves of Grass, a comedic thriller which actor-turned-filmmaker Tim Blake Nelson wrote and will direct for Nu Image/Millennium Film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Keri Russell is in negotiations to join the cast. Lucy DeVito, the daughter of Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, and country singer Steve Earle are already in the cast.

Norton is portraying twin brothers, one an Ivy League philosophy professor, the other a small-time and brilliant marijuana grower. The professor is lured back to his Oklahoma hometown for a doomed scheme against a local drug lord (Dreyfuss) that unravels his life.

Sarandon plays the brothers' eccentric mother, while Russell will play a love interest. Nelson is playing a best friend to one of the brothers.

Nelson wrote Leaves of Grass with Norton in mind and showed it early last year to the actor, who wasn't looking for a new project and put off reading the script. When Norton finally did read it, he was hooked.

"I called him and said, 'You're right. It's great,' " recalled Norton. "There have been only a couple of times in my career that I've gone, 'That's exactly what I want to do.' It felt very complete."

Shooting is scheduled to being Sept. 22 in Shreveport, La. with a budget between $9.5 million and $14 million.

Leaves of Grass was released September 17th, 2010 and stars Edward Norton, Lucy DeVito, Kent Jude Bernard, Amelia Campbell, Tim Blake Nelson, Randal Reeder, Leo Fabian, Tina Parker. The film is directed by Tim Blake Nelson.